About 100,000 people crowded into the centre of Belgrade last night for a rally to remove President Slobodan Milosevic, in one of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in the capital for years. 
But with his talent for timing, the Yugoslav leader stole some of the opposition's thunder by letting his aides leak tentative plans for early legislative elections. 
"If the opposition wants elections, so be it," said Ivica Dacic, the spokesman for the ruling Socialist party of Serbia. "We are ready." 
Despite the spoiler, the crowds gathered in the evening sun outside the building of the federal parliament, the body that elected Mr Milosevic to his present position almost two years ago, to hear speeches calling on him to resign. 
Chanting "resignations" and "Slobo go", at every mention of Milosevic's name the crowd responded with ear-splitting boos and jeers. 
As the rally began, a tear gas canister was hurled near the speakers' stand outside the federal parliament, triggering a brief stampede. One man was carried from the scene, apparently injured. 
Riot police were deployed on side streets but were not visible in front of the building. 
The controversial and charismatic former deputy prime minister Vuk Draskovic, who had announced he was staying away from the rally, delighted the crowd by making a surprise appearance. 
"Serbia is in jail," he thundered. "We are in jail because ... [Yugoslavia] is led by those who are totally isolated by the world. They must go to the political past," he said. "Serbia goes to the future." 
But he was later booed by some for criticising sections of the opposition. 
Zoran Djindjic, another main opposition leader, gave the Yugoslav president 15 days to resign or "the whole of Serbia will rise up". 
A senior figure in the Serbian Orthodox church, Father Atanasije Rakita, read a letter from Yugoslavia's pretender to the throne, Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, who lives in exile in London. 
"You are here to demand radical changes," the crown prince said. "The fall of Milosevic is only the first step. Don't miss this moment." 
Father Atanasije told the crowd: "This is our only chance. If we miss it, God help us." 
The protesters had started gathering by early afternoon, with many arriving by bus from towns around the country. 
A small group staged a six-mile (10km) march on foot to the capital from their native town of Pancevo, despite the scorching summer heat. 
"We are marching to Belgrade because we want to kindly ask Milosevic to leave," said Tibor Jona, one of those taking part. "It's either him or us. Either he will go and we will stay in the country, or he will stay and we will go out of the country." 
This was the biggest demonstration in a two-month campaign of protests and was envisaged as the beginning in earnest of a drive for fundamental political change in Serbia. 
The opposition Alliance for Change, a fragmented coalition of mainly small parties, has appealed to the public mood. After 10 years of war and crisis, most Serbs want an end to economic hardship and international isolation. 
Unfortunately, continuing disputes over minute policy details underline the apparent inability of the opposition parties to agree on anything. Personal rivalries have also played a damaging role. 
The soap opera over which leaders would speak at the rally and in what order has overshadowed the event. 
Mr Draskovic had originally decided to stay away, seemingly because he did not get the prestigious concluding slot in the list of speechmakers. 
Mr Draskovic's earlier actions had fuelled speculation that he was planning to get back into bed with the government, after a brief spell as Yugoslav deputy prime minister during the conflict with Nato. He has vigorously denied Serbian media reports of a secret meeting with President Milosevic. 
Just before the rally, the government appeared to be back-pedalling on its leaked election plans as Mr Dacic stressed that no official preparations were taking place. 
Alliance leaders accused the government of trickery and warned that any elections would be marred by fraud. 
In reality, President Milosevic could be well-advised to call elections this autumn. His position is stronger now than it was directly after Nato's bombing campaign. His advisers may be calculating that the president's fortunes cannot get much better, but can certainly get worse.